The Near East was in great part Christian. Christ had left a message. Christianity
was persecuted. With the Council of Nicea, the long series of excommunications began:
Arius, Nestorius, Eutyches, Photius. The rupture was achieved in 1054. The legate
of the Pope excommunicates the Patriarch Michel Cérullaire. And he in turn excommunicates
the Pope. Christianity is jostled about by invasions by the Persians, the Arabs, the
Mongols, the Ottomans. The Islamic fighters begin their conquest of the world. All
of Syria is theirs. Then they conquered Egypt. The yoke of the Byzantine Empire had
been so heavy that the invaders were welcomed with relief. To finance “the Jihad”,
Christians were taxed with “la jizya”, the high burden of this inciting thousands
of them to opt for the conquering religion.In fact, the real situation varies
according to the eras and the personalities of the leaders. Evil had been done, even
if the Christians and Muslims continued to work to save threatened tolerance and democracy.John
Paul II said: “At the threshold of the third millennium, Christianity is still well
anchored in the Near East”.